____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ January 2, 2000 ____________________________________________________ Weighing Vices and Virtues On the Scales of Our Lives by Tom Edwards The following was printed on the first page of an ad: ``lust, greed, power, sex, envy--All for 99 cents. Choose a free gift, too!'' Opening the ad, it turned out to be from a book company that was offering a special on their books; and, I imagine, the advertisers knew exactly what many people in our society are looking for--if even just a vicarious thrill--and, thus, used these allurements above. Do you think as many individuals would have been intrigued, however, had it said, ``godly love, selflessness, generosity, humility, fidelity, and good wishes toward others--that you might freely give even as Jesus has given''? Sadly, I would say that this second category probably would not have the appeal to most people as the former one would. If we could weigh these two categories of vices and virtues in our lives, which way would the scales be tilting? This is something we need to seriously evaluate from time to time, to make sure we are not veering from heaven's course and ending up in a ditch of iniquity. And, actually--to the contrary of earthly standards--''one ounce'' of a sinful vice cannot be outweighed by even ``ten pounds'' of virtue; so we must be sure that we do not allow for any sinful vice in our lives. As Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 13:5, ``Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you--unless indeed you fail the test?'' Just as we need to give our car a checkup from time to time, even more important is this spiritual checkup we must give ourselves by looking into the ``mirror'' of God's word--for unlike most mirrors that only give a superficial view, the mirror of God's word helps us look deep into our hearts and be aware of the areas that need attention (cf, James 1:21-25). Rather than using the above scale-illustration, we should more accurately use the ``measuring cup'' of virtue--leaving no room for vice--and realizing that no matter how many virtues we have, they can each be increased, such as love, mercy, patience, etc. So if we have ``one cup'' of patience, let's try to increase that to ``two cups,'' etc. This is also similar to faith: it is not always a question of merely having faith or not having faith, but we as Christians need to also be concerned of increasing our faith (Luke 17:5)--for faith can be ``little'' (Matt. 6:30) or faith can be ``great'' (Matt. 15:28) (and, I would assume, it could be anywhere in between, as well). From what we can infer in Galatians 4:19, having Christ in us is something we must work at. It begins with our obeying the gospel to become a Christian and is to continue throughout our lives by our adherence to the Scriptures (cf, 2 Pet. 3:18). For in Galatians 4:19, Paul expresses his desire to work with them ``until Christ is formed in you.'' Obviously, a figurative phrase that indicates the spiritual development of Christians who are conforming more to the nature of Jesus by putting the gospel into practice in their lives, which leads to a change in their thinking, a change in their actions, and even a change in their reactions. When we as Christians are living according to God's word then this is when we figuratively have Christ in us--who is our ultimate example (1 Pet. 2:21-23)--and our ``hope of glory'' (Col. 1:27). As a Christian, our duty, if we are following in the footsteps of Jesus, is to serve--and not to be served (cf, Matt. 10:25-28); to be more concerned with giving than receiving (which is more blessed--See Acts 20:35); and to give of not merely our money, but also of our time and our talents (which can be used in our service to God); for this is the life of fruitfulness. It is sad that so many in our society are turned off to the gospel, but why are they that way? Could it be that they ``have only enough religion to make them miserable,'' as someone once observed. Through their misconception of likening Christianity with belonging to a type of social club, which one needs to reluctantly show up for from time to time and observe a few, starched formalities, no wonder some have no desire to be a Christian. This reminds me of the one-talent man who merely buried his talent instead of using it because he knew his master (who represents the Lord) to be a ``hard man'' (Matt. 25:24). How little the one-talent man really knew of his master. Others, though, as Jesus explains, hate the light [truth] and will not come to it because they love the darkness [sin] more (John 3:19-21). Sin, of course, can have an alluring power; but its appeal is temporary. As Moses viewed it--and chose to endure ill-treatment with the people of God instead--sin is but ``fleeting pleasures'' (Heb. 11:25, RSV). Living spiritually, however, is not a temporary thing--and certainly far from anything mundane, for it is the exact opposite. It is the ``abundant life'' that Jesus came to give to those who were already living (Jn. 10:10), a life that begins in time and continues throughout eternity. Unfortunately, though, the cloak of sin has enshrouded the minds of many--blinding them from the right perspectives of holiness and deceiving them into thinking that there could be no pleasure in a godly life in which ``you just have to be good all day.'' But many can be the joys and pleasures and blessings of the one who walks with Christ; and I often remind myself that heaven is a place that is so wonderful that God has been there for all eternity--and hasn't left yet! That must be some place!!! Let us, therefore, conquer the sinful vices in our lives with the virtuous power of the gospel that Christ may reign supreme on the throne of our hearts; and we may truly be His loyal subjects who will one day be ushered in to the eternal realm of heaven's glory--where like the mice, not even one vice will be allowed to enter! ___________________________________________ Y2K OK by Tom Edwards As I expected, the world did not cease to function during our recent turn of the century and the new millennium. Of course, this is not to say that everything would still have gone as smoothly had not early preparation been taken care of--and that which resulted in hundreds of billions of dollars. And to think that all this effort and expense was due to two, small digits in the date of a year that had been omitted a few decades ago! (I think I hear a sermon or two brewing: ``Be Sure Your Sins Will Find You Out,'' and ``Coming Up Short in the Judgment Day.'') There are some commands in the Bible that might seem trivial or unimportant to many people today, but let us remember from our above illustration that even ``little'' things can make a big difference. Actually, there is no commandment of the Lord that should ever be classified as ``insignificant''; for if God tells us to do it--or not to do it--we'd better take heed (cf, Matt. 23:23). Concerning the Old Law, Jesus prohibited the tampering with even a jot or a tittle from it--which could be as erasing the dot on an ``i'' or blotting out the crossing on a ``t.'' (This also indicates to us that the law was perfect in being all that it was supposed to be--though ``imperfect'' in the sense of not being able to blot out man's sins by animal sacrifices.) Man was not allowed to make the slightest alteration in the law--regardless of how insignificant it might have seemed (Matt. 5:17-19). According to Jesus, it needed no change nor correction! And how can we forget the serpent's craftiness toward Eve when he simply added one, little three-letter word, ``not,'' to the Lord's warning that she would surely die if she ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 3:1-4). With this small term, the serpent gave an opposite rendering of what the Lord had said--just as many do today when they want to add this same word (``not'') to 1 Peter 3:21, which says that ``baptism now saves you....'' Having been deceived into believing that man is saved by ``faith only,'' many individuals cannot accept that baptism is also essential toward being saved--so they have to mentally blot out or pervert those verses that make the need for baptism clear--such as Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Rom. 6:3,4; Gal. 3:26,27, etc. Even more urgent than our recent preparation for the new millennium, is making ourselves ready for heaven itself, where even a trillion millenniums cannot begin to come close in comparison to its eternal nature. This readiness can only come about by our not tampering with God's word--through addition, elimination, or twisting of verses--but by accepting it for how it is, believing it, and obeying it. Are you "OLE" ready, which will follow the Judgment Day? For that will then be just ``One Long Eternity'' --whether in heaven or in a place that might not have ``bugs,'' but will be ``where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched'' (Mark 9:44). Fortunately, it is God's desire--as well as every true Christian's--that your eternal abode will be in heaven, not torment (2 Pet. 3:9; Rom. 10:1). But you must make the choice by faith and action; for as a lost soul, you are drifting down a current to a perilous waterfall that will result in destruction if you simply remain indifferent, making no attempts to accept the way of rescue. It's when one responds to the gospel by believing in Jesus, repenting of sins, acknowledging faith in Christ, and being baptized in water for the remission of sin that God can reach down and snatch that one out of the snare of Satan. So God and man both have a role in salvation. Reluctant Naaman found God's command to dip seven times into the Jordan River much too trivial of a thing to be healed of his leprosy. But when he finally submitted to it, he was cured! (2 Kings 5). You might find the gospel plan of salvation too simple--some of it might even seem silly to you at first--but if you obey it, you will be saved (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:36-38; Rom. 10:9,10; Rev. 2:10). Salvation cannot be earned or merited; but even if we had a thousand years to try to do so, all of our efforts would still seem very small in contrast to the great value of heaven itself! So let us not overlook the importance of ``little'' things, and do our best to be ready for eternity! ___________________________________________ Did Jesus Do What He Promised? by Frank Himmel On the eve of His crucifixion, Jesus told the apostles, ``I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth....'' (John 16:12-13). Earlier, He had identified the Spirit of truth as the Helper or the Holy Spirit whom He would send (John 14:16-17,26; 15:26). At the time of His ascension, Jesus again promised the apostles that the Holy Spirit was coming, ``not many days from now'' (Acts 1:4-8). They were to wait in Jerusalem until that time, at which point they would be empowered and begin their work as Jesus' witnesses. In less than two weeks, the Spirit did come, just as Jesus promised. The apostles began to speak ``as the Spirit was giving them utterance'' (Acts 2:1-4). From that point on, they preached as directed by the Spirit (see 1 Corinthians 2:10-13). Several decades later, Peter affirmed that ``everything pertaining to life and godliness'' had been granted through God's power (II Peter 1:3). Jude added his testimony that the faith ``was once for all delivered to the saints'' (Jude 3). Without question, Jesus did exactly what He promised. He sent the Spirit, who completed the work of revealing God's will. The apostles had ``all truth,'' ``everything pertaining to life and godliness,'' the faith once for all delivered.'' Now, if the Spirit guided the apostles of Christ into ``all truth,'' what was left to be revealed through others centuries later? Several churches, such as Roman Catholics, claim that God is still actively revealing truth through their leaders. Others are based on books claiming to be recent revelations from God such as Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy or the Book of Mormon by Joseph Smith, Jr. And more than a few TV preachers claim that the Spirit is directly revealing messages to them, too. If Jesus did what He promised, if the apostles were given all truth, modern claims of additional revelation are false. -- Via The Old Path II, September 5, 1999 ___________________________________________ NEWS & NOTES Please remember my landlord, Ken Kazee, who will be undergoing surgery the 4th of this month. Thank you. Being the first Sunday of the month, Rick Fleeman will be preaching for us tonight. ________________________________________ Tri-State CHURCH OF CHRIST 1314 Montgomery Avenue, Ashland, Kentucky 41101 Sunday: 10:00 A.M. Bible class 10:50 A.M. Worship 6:30 P.M. Worship Wednesday: 7:30 P.M. Bible study evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (606) 325-9742 e-mail: tedwards@zoomnet.net Gospel Observer web site: http://www.zoomnet.net/~tedwards/go ________________________________________